The Signalman
by ShootingStarStories2
Summary: Based on the story of the same name by Charles Dickens. When the engines are telling scary stories, Henry recounts a tale of him meeting an old signalman. Is this signalman more than he seems? Rated T just to be safe!


It was a misty moonlit night on Sodor and the engines were listening to scary stories. "And so, when your out and about, look out for the monster in the shed!" Finish James. "Oh come on James, that wasn't even scary!" Said Percy. "Yeah," added Gordon, "You already told it about 5 times, it's not even that scary" "Well, you can come up with better!" Replied James. Before an argument could break out, Edward broke it up. "Now, now settle down everyone, you know I already went, James went, so who's next?" "I'll go next." Said Henry. Everyone looked at the big green Stanier. "You? Tell a scary story? You barely even tell a proper scary story!" Laughed James. "Shush!" Said Gordon, "Even if he doesn't join us that often, doesn't mean he can tell scary stories!" "Well, what are you waiting for? Tell it!" Said the engines. Henry took a deep breath. "Well, it all started well before Gordon was sold to the Fat Controller and before I got into my new shape." And this was the story Henry told.

April 3rd, 1919.

Near Henry's Tunnel, there was a signal box. It wasn't far from said Tunnel but had a fair distance away. It was there to make sure the trains would enter and exit the tunnel safely. At the time, there was only one line that went through the tunnel. So engines had to wait near the signal box on a double section of track until the engine in the tunnel would safely pass the other engine. One engine that always stops at this section of track was Henry. Henry was a cross between an LNER A1 and an LMS Black 5. He sometimes had trouble raising up steam at that particular spot but he didn't mind. Henry had made friends with an old signalman, who had been on the railway since the Northwestern was formed. The two always talked at length until the Express or a goods train passes and the two always parted ways with a friendly goodbye.

April 6th, 1919.

One day, however, Henry noticed the signalman wasn't responding as much as usual. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Well," Replied the signalmen, "On April 3rd, I had the strangest of encounters. I was doing my late-night shift when I heard footsteps outside my signal box. I came outside to inspect and went to the tunnel. A thick fog was around, so I couldn't see a thing. Then, against the wall was a shadow of a man. He had his left arm across his forehead and his right arm was waving frantically. He was yelling 'Hey, hello there! Get out of the way! Look out!' When I tried to get close, the shadow disappeared!" Henry snorted. "It was probably just your mind playing tricks on you!" "That's what I thought too." Replied the signalman, "But the very next day, a goods train derailed in the tunnel. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But the track was badly damaged so the repair crew had to repair it!" Henry just rolled his eyes. "That's just a coincidence! An engine could derail in that tunnel very easily!" "I hope it is a coincidence." Replied the signalman. At that moment the express passed and the two parted.

April 18th, 1919.

Two weeks after the incident, things went back to normal. Until one day, Henry saw the signalman again, looking more worse than the last time. "What's wrong?" Asked Henry. "You know how I told you about that figure of the man?" He said. "Yes." Replied Henry. "Well, last week, on the 12th, I saw it again. It was doing the same stuff before, waving and yelling before disappearing. Not two days after that, there was a horrific accident. A passenger train was heading out of the tunnel when suddenly it derailed and slid into the river. Two minutes after the derailment, a goods train came in way too fast in the opposite direction rammed into the derailed carriages. It took us three days to clear that wreck. To make matters worse, 23 passengers and two crew members died in that wreck. I'm starting to wonder if this figure is a jinx. Anytime it appears, it always brings some sort of tragedy." "Oh, dear." Said Henry, "Hopefully, this stops soon." "Me to Henry, me too." Replied the signalmen. The express passed and the two parted their ways. As he entered the tunnel, Henry had a sinking feeling in his boiler that was the last time he saw that signalmen … alive.

April 30th, 1919.

One rainy day, Henry was making his way to his tunnel with a commuter train. Henry never liked the rain, but he cared about the passengers. As he approached the tunnel, a low fog surrounded it. Then, Henry's driver noticed something, the signal was in the down position. "That's odd." He said, "The signal should be up. We should slow down, just in case." As Henry went into the tunnel, his lamp caught a figure a few feet away. "Brakes!" Cried Henry. His driver screwed his brake hard on. But even with the brakes on, it was clear that Henry wasn't going to stop in time. Henry's driver blew his whistle loud and long to get the attention of the figure, while the fireman was yelling at the top of his lungs but Henry couldn't hear him over the noise. There was a loud thump. Who or whatever it was had been hit. Henry skidded to a halt just before his buffers exited the tunnel. "Oh- oh no, I hit it!" Exclaimed Henry. His crew walked around to the front. They were shocked to find a body hanging onto Henry's brake pipes. "This is really bad!" Cried the fireman. The guard was informed about what had happened and he sprinted back to the signal box. He came back a few minutes later. "I've called for help," he said, "But when I got to the signal box, there was no one there!" "Maybe he got sick." Replied the driver. "But if he got sick, he would've informed Sir Topham Hatt." Said the fireman. Henry went pale. "Do you think we hit him?" He asked. "I don't know, Henry but we need to wait for the authorities to get here." Replied the driver. Soon, the police arrived on board Eagle, along with the fat controller.

The police inspected the body, while the guard informed the passengers about the situation. After a thorough inspection, the police were shocked that the body was the old signalman. Then, they interrogated Henry's crew. "So, what did you do?" Asked a constable to Henry's crew. "Well," replied Henry's driver, "I blew Henry's whistle and slammed on the brakes." "And I was also trying to get the signalman's attention." Said the fireman. "I see, and what were you doing fireman?" Asked the constable." "I put my left arm across my forehead and my right arm was waving frantically, while shouting at the top of my lungs: 'Hey, hello there! Get out of the way! Look out!" Henry's face went pale. "Constable," Henry said, "Before today, the signalman told me of him hearing footsteps outside of his signal box, and seeing a figure by the tunnel doing those very things my fireman was doing." "I see." Said the constable and he went to talk with Sir Topham Hatt.

Present-day

The engines were shocked! "W-what happened next?" asked Percy. "After the incident, I and my crew were traumatized from the whole thing, so we had a few days off. We'd also went to weekly therapy sessions." Replied Henry. "You, went to therapy sessions, you can't fit inside of buildings!" laughed James. "What about Mikey?" Asked Thomas "He's a therapist as well as a rescue engine." "Thomas, Mikey wasn't around back then." Replied Edward. "Edwards' right," said Henry, "So, a human therapist came to see me in my shed. Anyways, Sir Topham Hatt decided to get rid of that signal box, widen the tunnel, and added one more tunnel. Everyone didn't trust the railway until Gordon broke down and I and Edward had to pull the express. For a while, things calmed down. Then one rainy day, a visiting engine reported seeing a man in the tunnel. He tried to approach him, but when he did the man disappeared. When asked what the details of the man, the engine said that it was a signalman. It was from then on, that the sightings of the ghost began. On rainy nights, similarly to that fateful day, you can see the signalman inside the tunnel. Trying to get back to his signal box, but never does." The engines were shaken, scared, and worried. Except for James, he never believed in ghosts. "What a load of rubbish!" Said, James. "I've been on this island for about 10 years and I've seen no ghosts!" "Still, be careful on your way to Vicarstown with your goods train, I heard tonight it's going to rain very hard." Warned Henry. "Pah!" Huffed James and went to collect his trucks. On the way, he couldn't help but think of Henry's story. James didn't want to admit it, but he hoped he didn't meet with a ghost.

As James left the yards, it began to rain. "Ghosts aren't real." James muttered to himself. Soon James approached the tunnel, his driver slowed him down to avoid derailing. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, James spotted a figure in the second tunnel. It looked just like the "SIGNALMAN!" Cried James, his crew looked over and saw the figure. It had work clothing, its face was horribly disfigured, and a black hat. The thing was waving and moaning. The trucks saw it too and they were frightened! James sped up and raced through the other side of the tunnel. He didn't stop until he reached Vicarstown. There, James spent the night at the sheds.

He arrived back at the sheds the next day. Henry saw the look on James' face. "Don't say I didn't warn you." Said Henry to James as he passed. James could only agree.


End file.
